Ice Vision Radar Ice Display

Ice Vision makes it possible to significantly extend the possibilities of ship’s navigation and plotting of optimum routes when sailing in harsh ice conditions and restricted conditions of rocky islets and fiords due to enhanced quality, definition, and resolution of radar image (RMRS Type Approval Certificate).
The device is designed for high-quality visualization of ice conditions in radar coverage areas installed on a ship, shore, drilling platform, and other objects.
The device is connected to radar and provides displaying of an image on a monitor in real-time mode and creating a records archive. Ice conditions can be easily decrypted by a master that allows identifying the parameters of small gaps and broken channels to define an optimum route by recommendations from the center for scientific and operational support of ice navigation (typical connection diagram is given in figure 1).

Multilevel processing of radar image ensures:

• Enhancement of contrast;
• Improvement of radar image quality, definition, and resolution;
• Identification of moving objects among fixed ones;
• Increase of the range of small objects detection.

Main application areas:

• Short-range (5-10 nM) monitoring of ice conditions aboard icebreakers and transport ships with icebreaking capabilities;
• Ice escort registration;
• Creation of atlas for radar images of ice features;
• Simulator.

Additional features:

• Using as additional information layer of navigation charts, satellite radar and optical images, ice charts of State Institution Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute;
• Target environment formation;
• Evaluation of local ice shifting;
• Addressing computational tasks.

Mating interfaces:

• Mating with radar provides for using VIDEO, SYNCHRO, BEAR and HEAD signals;
• Mating with navigation sensors via interfaces RS-422, RS-485, and Ethernet.

Technical Specifications:

• Voltage range of signal VIDEO 0-3,5 V of any polarity;
• Input impedance of signal VIDEO – 50/75 Ohm or 1000 Ohm;
• Range of synchronization pulses – 2-25 V of any polarity;
• Number of processed pulses of antenna direction – 90, 128, 180, 256, 360, 400, 450, 1024, 2048 or 4096 pulses/revolution;
• AD converter clock frequency – 40/80 MHz;
• AD converter capacity – up to 8;
• Number of distance readings – 4096;
• Number of angular readings – 4096;
• Antenna rotation speed – up to 60 rpm;
• Minimum range of evaluation – depending on the range of radar dead area;
• Maximum range of ice evaluation – 5-8 miles (ice visibility range);
• Maximum coverage area – up to 200 miles (depends on hardware capabilities of computing machine).

There are two versions of marine computers: KMI MKS-1.4 and KMI MKS-4.1. Their descriptions and detailed specifications are given below.

1.)  KMI MKS-1.4 is intended for use on ships, boats, and other vessels of maritime fleet both as an independent information and control device and as a part of ship automation systems, information and control systems, navigation, and radio communication systems.
There are three designs of KMI to be supplied:

• desktop;
• bulkhead-mounted;
• built-in integration panel.

The size of the display screen, CPU frequency, RAM and hard disk size, number of input/output ports are varied as per the customer’s request.

KMI MKS-1.4 complies with the requirements of GOST RV 20.39.304-98 for design categories 2.2.1, and its design ensures a protection level not lower than IP22. Monitor front protection is not lower than IP65.

KMI MKS-1.4 is based on an industrial single-board computer.

The required performance is provided by installing additional modules of the PC104/PC1G4+ standard.

Anti-vibration protection can be provided by installing KMI monoblock on spiral-rope vibration dampers of the STVR type.

2.)  Marine computer MKS-4.1 is intended for use as a PC system unit both on ships and in onshore facilities.

When used in onshore facilities, it is not equipped with STVR and can be installed in standard server rack 19″. The computer has high computational performance, including a highly efficient graphics subsystem. It is recommended for use as a computing device for processing radar data.

It can be used with various types of input/output and information displaying devices